Investment objective & strategy
As of Feb. 27, 2026 · prospectusObjective. The Fund seeks to obtain maximum risk-adjusted return with a secondary focus on high current income.
Strategy. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of the aggregate of its net assets and borrowings for investment purposes in credit and credit related instruments. For purposes of this policy, the Fund considers credit and credit related instruments to include: (i) secured and unsecured floating rate and fixed rate loans; (ii) investments in corporate debt obligations, including bonds, notes, debentures, commercial paper and other obligations of corporations to pay interest and repay principal; (iii) debt issued by governments, their agencies, instrumentalities, and central banks; (iv) commercial paper and short-term notes; (v) preferred stock; (vi) equity and debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs, loan accumulation facilities and securities issued by other securitization vehicles, such as credit-linked notes … Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of the aggregate of its net assets and borrowings for investment purposes in credit and credit related instruments. For purposes of this policy, the Fund considers credit and credit related instruments to include: (i) secured and unsecured floating rate and fixed rate loans; (ii) investments in corporate debt obligations, including bonds, notes, debentures, commercial paper and other obligations of corporations to pay interest and repay principal; (iii) debt issued by governments, their agencies, instrumentalities, and central banks; (iv) commercial paper and short-term notes; (v) preferred stock; (vi) equity and debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs, loan accumulation facilities and securities issued by other securitization vehicles, such as credit-linked notes and collateralized bond obligations or CBOs; (vii) convertible debt securities; (viii) certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances and time deposits; and (ix) credit-related instruments that share characteristics of the instruments listed above. The Funds investments in derivatives, unaffiliated investment companies. including exchange-traded funds, and other instruments designed to obtain indirect exposure to credit and credit related instruments are counted towards the Funds 80% investment policy to the extent such instruments have similar economic characteristics to the investments included within that policy, and will be valued on a mark-to market basis. The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, in a portfolio of U.S. debt securities of varying maturities and durations and across multiple sectors that the portfolio managers believe have capital appreciation potential. The portfolio managers may also consider the ability of investments to generate significant income. Under normal circumstances, the Fund may invest up to 65% of its net assets in below investment grade securities. The Fund will not target any particular average credit quality and may purchase fixed-income securities of any credit quality. The sectors in which the Fund may invest, but are not limited to: (i) government notes and bonds; (ii) corporate bonds, including high-yield/high-risk bonds, also known as junk bonds; (iii) commercial loans; (iv) agency mortgage-backed securities; (v) asset-backed securities; (vi) taxable and tax-exempt municipal securities; (vii) bank loans, which may be securitized or non-securitized and may be syndicated or non-syndicated; and (viii) convertible securities and preferred stock. The portfolio managers believe that by investing in multiple sectors that potentially have low correlation to each other (prices that do not move together), the strategy will benefit from diversification and, the Funds overall volatility may be reduced. The Fund may not have exposure to all of these investment sectors, and the Funds exposure to any one investment sector will vary over time. The Fund may also invest in money market instruments and zero-coupon bonds. Due to the nature of the securities in which the Fund invests, it may have relatively high portfolio turnover compared to other funds. The Fund may also invest in floating rate obligations and floating rate bank loans. Floating rate obligations feature rates that reset regularly, maintaining a fixed spread over interest rate benchmarks or other prime rates of large money-center banks. The Fund may also invest in equity securities consisting of common stock and preferred stock with a focus on large capitalization companies and dividend-paying equities. The portfolio manager typically applies a bottom up approach in choosing investments. The portfolio manager additionally considers the expected risk-adjusted return on a particular investment and the Funds overall risk allocations and volatility. The portfolio manager uses a disciplined sell strategy for the Fund. The portfolio manager may sell securities because of a deterioration of the underlying companys financials, such as earnings or cash flow, or because of an increase in the price of a security that would make it expensive relative to the other securities held by the Fund. Other reasons may include a change in management or control of the company, a need to raise cash or changes in the regulatory or economic environment in which the company operates. The portfolio manager can also sell any security at their discretion based on changes in expected valuation, volatility or other statistical or fundamental parameters.
Top holdings
As of April 30, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSILF-GOVT-INS | MVRXX | $2.11M | 3.12% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $1.93M | 2.85% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $1.35M | 1.99% |
| FIRST CITIZENS BANCSH F2V | FCNCA | $1.06M | 1.56% |
| KENNEDY-WILSON INC SR UNSEC 4.75% 02-01-30 | KW | $987.43K | 1.46% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $910.23K | 1.34% |
| Macy's Retail Holdings, LLC | — | $901.07K | 1.33% |
| UBS Group AG | — | $844.75K | 1.25% |
| KSS 10 06/01/30 144A | KSS | $793.52K | 1.17% |
| Hilcorp Energy I LP / Hilcorp Finance Co 6.25 11/01/2028 | HILCRP | $761.20K | 1.12% |
Portfolio moves
Jan 31, 2026 → Apr 30, 2026How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.
Similar funds
Funds whose portfolios most overlap this one, by weight| Fund | Overlap | Net exp. |
|---|---|---|
| First Trust Smith Unconstrained Bond ETF · UCON | 29% | 0.86% |
| ALPS | Smith Total Return Bond Fund · SMAMX, SMCHX, SMTHX, SMTRX | 24% | 0.59% |
| ALPS | Smith Core Plus Bond ETF · SMTH | 22% | 0.59% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| Smith Capital Investors, LLC | Sub-adviser |
| ALPS Advisors, Inc. | Adviser |
Footnotes
- Expense ratio as of February 27, 2026, from the fund's prospectus.
- Net assets and holdings count as of April 30, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
- Total return for calendar year 2025, before tax and after fund expenses. Computed by compounding the twelve monthly total returns the fund reported in its SEC N-PORT filings for 2025 (the latest prospectus does not yet chart this year).
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